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Saturday, 29 October 2016

Close to Home ....Marie Laval

As a book reviewer I have made contact with authors from all across the globe and feel immensely privileged to be able to share some amazing work. However, there is always something rather special when a book comes to my attention which has been written by an author in my part of the North of England. So with this in mind I have great pleasure in featuring some of those authors who are literally close to my home. Over the next few Saturdays, and hopefully beyond, I will be sharing the work of a very talented bunch of Northern authors and discovering just what being a Northerner means to them both in terms of inspiration and also in their writing.

Today I am thrilled to feature Lancashire based author

Marie Laval

Hello Marie and a warm welcome back to Jaffareadstoo...

Hello
Jo, and thank you very much for welcoming me on 'Close to Home'. I only hope that
people won't think I am an impostor because although I have been living in England
and had a long-term love affair with the North of England (and a Northern
man!), I am actually French and only moved to Manchester after graduating from
University.

Tell us a little about yourself and what got you started as an author..

My
first contact with the North of England was a three-month training in Wigan
back in 1984. I had finished a secretarial course and had the opportunity to work
in the Arts and Libraries Section there. I loved every minute of it. I met
great people, and had a wonderful time...so wonderful that I couldn't wait to
come back. It took me a little over five years to do so, and when I finally
returned I lived in Bolton and worked at the University of Manchester. It was
the early nineties, great bands were around such as the Charlatans and the
Stone Roses, and we had great nights out in Manchester.

You
asked what got me started as an author. There was a strong connection between
my writing and the North West. Although I had been writing short stories for some
time, I lacked confidence, especially because I was writing in English and
wasn't sure my writing was good enough. One day I saw a flyer for a short story
competition in Manchester Central Library. The competition was organised by
Manchester publisher Commonword, and I thought 'why not?' A few months later, I
received the fantastic news that my short story would be included in Commonword's
anthology NO LIMITS. One of my proudest moments was to be interviewed by the
Manchester Evening News (I was eight months pregnant with my first son and
absolutely enormous), and to attend the launch at the Cornerhouse in Manchester.

After
attending a romance writing course organised by Calderdale Libraries, I started
writing A SPELL IN PROVENCE, published by Áccent Press, and never looked back.

As a
writer based in the North-West, does this present any problems in terms of
marketing and promoting your books, and if so, how do you overcome them?

I
probably don't do as much promotion as I should, and most of it is online so my
location doesn't really matter. I would love to attend more RNA meetings and
parties, but they are usually mid-week and in London and there is no way I
could ask time off work to go.

Writing
is a solitary business - how do you interact with other authors?

I
have made wonderful friends on Facebook, and they provide a lot of support,
reassurance and advice. I am lucky to be able to meet some of them several
times a year in Hebden Bridge for a meal and a good chat, and I always come
back home from our meetings invigorated and upbeat.

If
you were pitching the North West as an ideal place to live, work and write, how
would you sell it and what makes it special?

As
you can see I love the North West. There are so many different landscapes -
there is the beautiful Rossendale Valley where I live, the lush Ribble Valley
and the moors near Bolton. A short drive away and you are on the coast -
Southport and Lytham and great places to shop and visit. The only thing I could
criticise is the weather, since the Rossendale Valley where I now live seems to
be a lot wetter than anywhere else!

What
makes the North West so special for me are the people. I'll never forget how
welcome I always felt here. One of my first memories of Wigan when I was
eighteen was how friendly everybody was. I remember thinking how wonderful it
was that everybody I met called me 'love', 'pet' or 'flower'!

How
supportive are local communities to your writing, and are there ever any
opportunities for local reading groups or libraries to be involved in promoting
your work?

I
think I should do more and approach local reading groups, but I am quite shy
and self-conscious about it. So far, I've only done one author talk. It was in
my lovely village library, and only three people turned up - one of them by
mistake, the other one coerced by the librarian, and the third one because he
wanted a coffee and a chocolate biscuit! I would have loved to do another talk
there some time in the future but it closed down at the end of September
because of budget cuts, and it is a great shame.

Otherwise,
two of my author friends - Helena Fairfax and Melinda Hammond (aka Sarah
Mallory) - held a romance writing workshop at Todmorden library last year and
it was a very positive experience. That's all so far...

And
finally, if someone is new to your work, which book do you think they should
start with?

How
could you ask me to choose between my 'babies', Jo?

No
seriously, it depends if readers prefer contemporary or historical romance. If
they like contemporary romance, they could try A SPELL IN PROVENCE. If they
like historical romance, then they could read ANGEL HEART, which is the first
of my novels featuring a member of the Saintclair family.

Lovely to find out more about you here, Marie. I'm so glad you found a home in England. Lancashire is the second best county in the country (after Yorkshire, of course! :) )Thanks for running these posts, Josie. I'm looking forward to finding out more about my fellow northerners!